100% Organic Conditioner For Soil :: How Kelzyme Works

Plants, like all living things, draw from their environment what they need in order to survive and grow. Kelzyme Organic Soil Conditioner greatly improves the most important aspect of a plant's environment, the soil. Kelzyme's catalytic power stimulates the release of the various soil nutrients needed by plants. Yet, when mixed with organic or chemical fertilizers (such as nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium), Kelzyme not only promotes but increases their joint effect. Such a benefit is called synergism-nature's bonus when certain elements are properly brought together under the right conditions so they can interact. Overall, Kelzyme's natural conditioning, stimulating and fertilizing of the soil are more beneficial and long lasting than current methods of applying (or misapplying) chemical fertilizers and insecticides.

Kelzyme's synergistic power also helps plants to repel insects and resist harmful bacteria and fungi in the soil. Its slightly acidic pH value of 5.5, created by the presence of amino acids, enables Kelzyme to help balance otherwise alkaline soils.

Soil Conditioning Benefits to Plants

• Soil Conditioner that is easily assimilated by plants.
• Natural Fertilizing agent
• Stimuli for growth of helpful bacteria in the soil that release, fix, or make nutrients available for plants.
• A repressor of harmful bacteria and fungi in soil.
• A catalyst for plants to manufacture their own natural insect repellent on leaf surface.
• An excellent liming material, which overcomes soil acidity.

Kelzyme Soil Conditioner is made up of a balanced array of water-soluble minerals, differing greatly from N-P-K fertilizers in that 25 or more growth factors are identifiable in Kelzyme as opposed to one to three in the current varieties. For example, Kelzyme's growth factors help plants to obtain nitrogen by stimulating natural, nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil. Kelzyme's content analysis will show less nitrogen than commercial fertilizers, although more nitrogen is actually available to the plants because of the balance established by Kelzyme. In this balanced environment, the nitrogen demands of decomposing soil material are supplied by existing bacteria, leaving any nitrogen in commercial fertilizer free to benefit the intended plants. Therefore, less commercial fertilizer (and its accompanying expense) is needed to obtain previous or better quality results.

By stimulating organic activity in the soil, Kelzyme lowers toxic residues from various salts and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Toxins from harmful organisms such as Nematodes and fungus infestations are also reduced. Not only does Kelzyme mitigate the poisons these ills generate, it stimulates attacks on the diseases themselves.

Kelzyme Soil Additive decreases the need for insecticides by presenting stronger, more self-defensive plants to insect invasions. It is known that some plants in fields treated with Kelzyme are able to produce a distasteful, waxy film on their surfaces to repel insect attacks, causing insects to bypass treated fields in favor of the untreated plants.

Overall, Kelzyme's natural conditioning, stimulating, and fertilizing of the soil is more beneficial and long lasting than current methods of applying (or misapplying) chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Dependency on chemicals and their sources is in large measure eliminated. The addition of Kelzyme is the addition of a natural up-building substance to the soil.

Kelzyme Natural Soil Conditioner:: Effects on Crops

Kelzyme has shown significant benefits when applied to virtually any crop, not only in yields but in quality increases as well.

Rice - Higher yields, earlier maturation, larger heads, higher protein content, lower fertilization requirements, better germination rates.

Other Grains - Larger heads and consistently higher protein content. Also, because of the increased availability of vital elements, crops have consistently been able to mature earlier and, most importantly, to withstand drought conditions to a much better degree than untreated plants.

Corn - Increased germination rates, increases in ear size, an increase in kernel size and regularity, an increase in protein content, earlier maturation of crops, increased yields both in silage crops and feed corn production, increased ability to withstand disease and insect infestation, and an increase in sugar content of the corn milk. Hay - A much leafier growth, faster recovery after cutting, lower water requirements, an increase in protein content, and an increase in some overall yields as high as 25% over the control, or untreated, fields.

Fruit Trees - Much heavier yields of all fruits tested (including peaches, pears, plums, apples, apricots, nectarines, cherries), earlier maturation rates, heavier fruits, later fruits, better quality yields, lower fertilization requirements. Melons - Better germination rates, faster growth, higher sugar content, resistance to splitting and sunburning, earlier maturation, greater consistency in quality, lower water and fertilizer requirements, increased disease resistance, better quality retention after harvesting. Sugar Beets - Improved germination rates, faster growth, increased size, increase in sugar content, more disease resistant, lower fertilization requirements. Sugar Cane - Faster growth, earlier maturation, much improved sugar content in quality as well as quantity, higher yields.

Soy Beans - An increase of 22% germination rate on 32 different experiments, 29% more nodulation in the root zone, yields increased 21%, protein increased an average of 9%, better disease resistance, lower requirements, earlier maturation of crop.

Conditioner For Soil :: Fossilized Marine Algae Soil Conditioner

For Soil :: Method of Application

For Soil :: Application Rates

Application rates for Kelzyme are best determined by soil conditions and cropping frequency of fields. Kelzyme can be applied to growing crops or during field preparation. The length of time between applications of Kelzyme can also be determined by soil conditions, and how intensively a field is planted. The application rates provided in this document for Kelzyme are general and should be refined by soil type, plant specifics, cropping frequency, and fertilizer inputs.

For Soil :: Transplanting

Whether you are transferring nursery stock in containers, digging field grown plant material, transplanting large trees or just replanting, Kelzyme can help reduce the chance of transplant shock in plants. Kelzyme contains calcium and numerous trace minerals that are not contained in conventional fertilizers. These minerals can help your plant survive the initial shock of being transplanted. Kelzyme’s high available calcium content plus 70 other trace minerals will aid in mineralizing your soil. Kelzyme is one of the best natural compost activators. Kelzyme feeds the bacteria, thus increasing its population and speeding up the compost process. The finished compost will be mineral rich.

For Soil :: Negative Effects of Urea in Soil

Urea is used as a nitrogen release fertilizer as it hydrolyses back to 2NH2 and CO2 but its most common impurity (biuret,NH2-CO-NH-CO-NH2) must be present at less than 2% as it impairs plant growth. It is also used in many multi-component solid fertilizer formulations.
Its action of nitrogen release is due to the conditions favoring the reagent side of the equilibriums which produce urea.

Andy Lopez from "The Invisible Gardener" wrote this about Urea:

Brief History

H.M. Rouelle in 1773 discovered Urea in human urine. It was synthesized in 1828 by Friedrich Wohler.This is when Wohler wrote to Berzelius the following: “I must tell you that I can make urea without the use of kidneys, either man or dog. Ammonium cyanate is urea!” This synthesis has since then been trying to deal a severe blow to the belief called “vitalism” which maintains that organic chemicals can be modified by chemistry but could only be produced through the agency of a vital force present in living plants and animals. Here is where the organic gardener and the chemical gardener part ways. Those of you that believe in this vitalism in general stand to the right and those of you that say there’s no difference stand to the left! In 1870 urea was produced by heating ammonium carbamate in a sealed vessel. This provided the basis of the current industrial process for its production.

Production

Urea is produced commercially by the dehydration of ammonium carbamate (NH2COONH4) at elevated temperature and pressure. Ammonium carbamate is obtained by direct reaction of ammonia with carbon dioxide. These reactions are normally carried out simultaneously in a high pressure reactor.

Uses

There are many uses for urea: Pharmaceutical, Resins, Agricultural, as well as Industrial uses; for our purpose we will stick to its agricultural uses and the effects it has on the soil, plants, lawns, trees, etc.

Nitrogen is nitrogen is nitrogen?

The whole idea is that there is a difference between an organic source of nitrogen and a chemical source of nitrogen. Urea (when it was discovered that it could be made from inorganic ( non-living) compounds and that chemically it was identical to its natural cousin Urine) was proclaimed as an important tool in growing more food to help feed the worlds growing population. This is still the current logic that chemical companies would like you to believe. The American idea that a little is OK but a lot is better does not really apply here.

45-0-0

Urea is 45% nitrogen and 55% inert. Animal urine is closer to 2-5% nitrogen along with a variety of minerals and bacteria. While I admit that nowadays it is easier to get Urea then it is to get animal urine, animal urine is the preferred organic method of nitrogen application. Another good reason most people do not use animal or human urine is health concerns although animal or human urine is perfectly safe to use as long as the donor is healthy. I use animal urine whenever I can and admit that it is harder to get at then its chemical cousin since you have to have access to a farm and make arrangements to have it saved for you as well as to find out if any chemicals have been injected into the animals, etc.. While it is understandable why we use Urea as a urine substitute the negatives far out weigh the positives.

Positives and Negatives about Urea

Positives
Sorry but I can’t think of any thing positive about using Urea except it makes money for anyone selling it!

Negatives
1- Rapid Growth pushes plants to grow too fast
2- Plants grow fast but are very weak
3- Promotes stress
4- Destroys soil organisms
5- Increases pest activities
6- Increases disease activities
7- Urea breaks down into various compounds some of which can inhibit plant growth.
8- Eventually decreases plant production
9- Decreases nutritional values of plants to humans while increases nutritional value to pests.
10-The carbon in Urea based fertilizers is chemically converted to CO2 and lost to the atmosphere. Carbon is energy to plants and soil micro-organisms.

More is better?

It is a mistaken idea that more nitrogen is better then less. What you must understand is how nitrogen is available in nature and how plants and soil organisms use it. Nitrogen is produced freely in nature by various mechanisms found in nature. The most obvious sources of nitrogen is animal manure. Another source is bacterial action. The bacteria produce nitrogen in a form available to the root hairs (through which it is absorbed into the plants) as well as a variety of other nutritional sources. Another source (actually #1) is produced by nature herself through the various storms she has on the planet.

Why Urea causes stress?

Plants can absorb nitrogen directly from the air as well as from the soil but they can also absorb it directly through their leaves. A basic problem with Urea based products is how it is available to plants. Natural sources provide plants with nitrogen as they need it and when they want it as opposed to chemical nitrogen such as Urea which is absorbed by the plants in very large amounts whether it needs it or not. This is where stress comes in. By force feeding your plants this chemical nitrogen, you are causing stress in the plants. Stress is also caused by the fact that Urea kills off all beneficial soil bacteria which are needed to breakdown the nutrients needed by plants. As the soil becomes less and less alive, the plants become increasingly dependent on the straight shots of ‘food’ it gets from the chemical fertilizer you are using.

How you feed your plants is as important as what you feed them?

Some Factors that cause stress in plants:
1..dead soil
2..low nutrition levels
3..low mineral levels
4..planted in wrong environment
5..wrong variety planted
6..other chemical use such as herbicides, pesticides, etc.

What Urea does to the soil:

There are two ways to sterilize the soil, using chemicals and using heat. Urea is a chemical that sterilizes the soil by killing off all the good bacteria normally found living in the soil. Urea because of its identical molecular structure is mistaken by bacteria and plants as a food source. Because Urea is a much more concentrated source of nitrogen, the bacteria are not fed but are actually destroyed leaving behind a mutated form of bacteria which the plants cannot use. Slowly plants find themselves weakening, starving from lack of proper nutritionist and stressed out. Their root systems no longer function as they should. They depend more & more on their chemical ‘hit’ to provide nutrition for them. The soils natural bacterial system is converted into one that cannot be used by plants root systems for food absorption but instead the bad bacteria themselves begin to feed off the plants!

What Urea does to the Plants:

The plants get an immediate ‘relief’ when you apply or spray fertilizers based on urea or some other chemical form of high nitrogen, but as it wears off the plants return to their weakened state and become even more stressed. This process is repeated over and over again. Less soil bacterium less root hair which equal less food being absorbed by the plants which means less energy, less minerals, more stress. Many chemical fertilizers are now using timed release fertilizers that release their ‘hits’ over a time, thus reducing down time. However this is not the case at all, instead the timed release fertilizers merely are increasing stress. Now Plants are stressed out all of the time! Fertilizer companies are also adding more nutrients to their Urea based fertilizers to help plants last longer as well as systemic to fight off pests and diseases. Plants thus stressed out are more inclined to disease and pest attacks then organically grown plants.

What Urea does to Diseases:

The very same bacteria that are normally present in the soil dies and is replaced by a different type of bacteria. Some of the bacteria are of the “bad” type. This is to say the bacteria are of the fungal disease type and are all soil born. They can establish themselves in the soil if certain conditions are right for them. The main condition being the lack of the “good” bacteria.

The Good Guys and The Bad Guys do not live in the same place!
What are the perfect conditions for diseases to occur?

Dead Soil Chemical over use destroys all soil bacteria expect for a few specific types of bad bacteria that depend on these conditions to grow. Urea when used over many years, destroys this balance of good and bad bacteria.
Stressed Plants Dead soil increases the plant's stress levels due to bad conditions for plant growth.
High Nitrogen High nitrogen causes rapid growth. Rapid growth without proper nutrition causes more stress which in turn restricts more nutrition from being absorbed by plants. High nitrogen also attracts insects that have mutated to handle plants that have such rapid growth. High nitrogen also mutates bacteria into rapid growth cycles.
Environmental stress can be from improper watering to weather cycles such as too much rain or drought. Biological considerations. Planting the wrong variety or type of plant in the wrong environment will certainly cause major stress to plants and all involved.
Over Chemical use of any type from pesticides to herbicides, etc. will cause major damage to soil's Eco system and disrupt nutritional levels.

The Ole Barrel Trick! (The Law of the Minimum)

If you were to look at a wine barrel. Notice how the slots are held together by a band going around it with a bottom to hold the liquid. Imagine that each slot of the wine barrel was a element needed by plants. Starting with nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and so on. Now lets say they were to actually represent the amount that was available to plants to use. the greater the length the more is available. The nitrogen ‘slot’ is 1 foot up above the top level of the wine barrel with various lengths of ‘slots’ for the varying amounts of each. Now lets suppose we started filling it up with water. How far up the barrel could we go before water would start spilling out? The lowest slot of course! All that nitrogen above the lowest slot is useless in holding any water isn't’ it? Actually all the nitrogen is what cause some of the other slots to be so low. remembering that there is a basic minimum level of minerals that you want. Too much minerals become toxic to its environment as too much nitrogen becomes toxic to its environment.

What now?

Feed the bacteria first and let the bacteria feed the plants.
Use slow release organic sources of nitrogen only.
Never use Nitrogen sources only but combine with minerals and bacteria.
Provide minerals in amounts needed by soil and plants.
Encourage high bacterial count by increasing use of compost based products or make your own compost.

Remember: High Nitrogen=High Stress=Disease/Pests=Low Minerals=Low Nutrient levels=Low Energy, High Energy=High Nutrient Levels=No Stress=No Pests/ Diseases!

One final note: There is a reason why Certified Organic Farmers cannot use store bought Urea based products! I am only talking about man made urea and not that naturally made by animals including humans. Please don't allow people to convince you that there is no difference between the two and it is therefore ok to use it. Tell the plants, the soil that!

Organic Conditioner For Soil :: Kelzyme as a Containment Remediation Device

Fossilized Marine Macroalgae use as a Hygienic Soil Biology Enhancement Amendment and Contaminant Remediation Device in Pakistani Rice Cropping Systems.

by Donald W. Trotter

Abstract

Environmental Health Science Corporation of Provo, Utah (EHS) was tasked by Pacific Alliance International Marketing Ltd. of British Columbia, Canada to determine whether the fossilized marine macroalgae (Kelzyme) material mined by EHS for use as an agricultural soil enhancement amendment worldwide would have a remediation effect on soils contaminated with elevated levels of Fluorine (F) from nitrogen applied to rice crops of the "Green Revolution" generation rice cultivars in Pakistan. EHS undertook the task at the Southern California Research Station (SCRS) along with information gathered from documentation of rice cropping systems where Kelzyme has been in use for several years.

The information gathered from these test shows significant precipitation of Fluorine as well as an overall increase in soil biological activity that indicates a potential for enhanced hygienic microbial activity while decreasing pathogenic microbial populations. From this testing it is herein documented that Kelzyme has the capacity to remediate fluorine contaminants while improving the soil food web's vigor.

Introduction

Fluorine (F) contamination of agricultural soils from various nitrogen sources has been seen more often in this era of increased soil health monitoring. Precipitation of Fluorine with Calcium Oxide (CaO) or burned lime has in the past been the only effective method of scrubbing Fluorine from environments where it has reached unacceptable levels. CaO is often not a viable solution to this contamination in agricultural soils due to lack of economically accessible material. Presently little is known about biological remediation of Fluorine contaminated soils, and due to the high solubility of F it can easily enter into the food or drinking water supply. Fluorine is toxic to humans in small amounts and can enter into plant tissues when complexed to iron as FeF6, which is highly soluble in water. High concentrations of Fluorine in soils where food crops are cultivated may result in unacceptable levels of Fluorine or Fluorine complexes entering into the food supply through a staple crop. Although it is not presently known what the levels of Fluorine contamination exist in the soils of the country of Pakistan, it is known that high levels of Fluorine in the diet is a threat to the health of those consuming contaminated foods (Fournier, et al, 1998). It is hypothesized that a reliable source of CaO along with supplementation of trace minerals to contaminated soil will precipitate the elevated levels of Fluorine while providing essential mineral nutrients to renew hygienic biological (Bowen and Rovira, 1966) activity in these soils as it provides renewed mineral diversity to the soil in order to sustain renewed vigor to crops.

Methods and Materials

The Kelzyme mineral was obtained from the deposit in Nevada, USA and transported to the test site in Encinitas, California in San Diego County, USA. Testing was done on twelve individual 3ft by 2ft beds of rice plants (Oriza sativa L). Muck soil was created (Parr, Hornick, 1993) so that each test bed had the same basic chemistry and physical structure. Twelve inches of the created muck soil was placed into each bed then each bed was filled with ultra violet light sterilized water to a depth of four inches above soil level. To create movement in the water each bed was aerated with an airstone to mimic typical levels of dissolved oxygen in a rice field (Rackocy, Doelle, 1997). Each test bed was pH balanced using peat moss in the muck soil mixture to achieve an aggregate pH of 5.8-6.0. Six rice plant seedlings of equal size and weight were placed into the muck soil.

The control beds (A, B) were left alone. Beds (C, D) were inoculated with Urea Formaldehyde nitrogen and 100-PPM elemental Fluorine. Beds (E, F) were inoculated with Urea Formaldehyde nitrogen and 200-PPM elemental fluorine. Beds (G, H) were inoculated with anhydrous ammonia and 100 PPM elemental fluorine and beds (I, J) were inoculated with anhydrous ammonia and 200 PPM elemental fluorine. Beds (K, L) were inoculated with emulsified fish solids and 100-PPM elemental fluorine and beds (M, N) were inoculated with fish solids and 200-PPM elemental fluorine. Beds (B, D, F, H, J, L, and N) were also inoculated with Kelzyme at a rate equal to 340kg per acre.

Testing began on April 3, 2000 and were concluded on July 28,2000. This allowed for one planting and the second generation of tests is currently underway using the same methodology. Total microorganisms were estimated by the plate count method. Bacteria and actinomycete populations were counted on egg albumin agar (Tadao, 1984). Total fungi were counted on rose bengal agar (Martin, 1950). Azotobacter were isolated on nitrogen-free mannitol broth agar (Harrigan and Margaret, 1966). Clostridia were isolated on media described by Sheldon (1970). Lactobacillus spp. were counted on Rogosa agar (Harrigan and Margaret, 1966). Starch digesting bacteria were counted using the method of Sheldon (1970). Agrobacterium, Erwinia, Pseudomonas, and Xanthomonas spp. were counted on D1, D3, D4, and D5 selective media, respectively (Kado and Heskett, 1970). Fusarium was counted on Komada's medium (Tadao, 1984); Verticillium on alcohol agar medium (Mathew and Chester, 1959); and Thievalopsis on RBM2 medium (Tsao, 1964).

Soil bulk density and porosity were determined according to methods described by Henry (1984), using 1cm diameter cores from each plot taken to a depth of 4 cm. Soil porosity was calculated from the ration of pore space and soil volume. Soil aggregation was determined by the pipette method of Hormers and Parker(1961).

Testing for F was calculated by mass spectrometry of soil and plant tissues. Testing was conducted offsite at independent testing laboratories, Expert Chemical Analysis of Del Mar, California and San Diego State University, San Diego, California.

Results

Changes in Fluorine Contamination

The inoculated beds (C, E, G, I, K, and M) remained high in F contamination while beds (C and E) actually tested higher in F contamination than the inoculated rate. In each case of inoculation with Kelzyme the amount of elemental F in each sample taken was lower than the inoculation rate by an average of 17.2%. Fluorine had been complexed to the CaO in the Kelzyme into Calcium Fluoride CaF2, which exhibits a very low solubility product of 3x10^-08.

Changes in Soil Microflora

In most cases, the numbers of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes increased after the soil was treated with Kelzyme fossilized marine algae, although the numbers of actinomycetes were lower in site (G) than the unfertilized control. It was interesting that the lowest number of actinomycetes occurred when the soil was treated with urea formaldehyde fertilizer only (beds C and E).

Generic analysis of the bacterial flora in the soil due to Kelzyme treatment is shown. In most cases the Kelzyme treatment markedly increased the number of Enterobacter spp. and starch digesting bacteria over that of the unfertilized control (A), but had little effect on enhancing the numbers of Lactobacillus spp. The highest numbers of Azotobacter and Clostridium species were attained with the fertilized control (N), while the lowest number of each occurred with the unfertilized, untreated control (A). The highest number of Xanthomonas and Erwinia species were found in the fertilized control (G), the highest number of Agrobacterium from the combination of cold process fish emulsion and Kelzyme (N), and the highest number of Pseudomonas from anhydrous ammonia (I).

Change in Soil Physical and Chemical Properties

Soil aggregation was significantly higher for all Kelzyme treatments than either the control (A) or the fertilized control (B). Soil aggregation actually decreased in the fertilized control (B). There was little difference in the effect of Kelzyme treatment or the unfertilized controls on soil pH. However humus content was markedly increased which is assumed to be caused from the organic matter in many of the treatments including Kelzyme. Nitrate levels were slightly higher in treatments and ammonium levels were unremarkably higher in the Kelzyme treatments. Potassium was also slightly increased by an average of 7% by the Kelzyme treatments. The most dramatic effects on the Kelzyme treatments were the elevated levels of calcium, Ca and the increased levels of inorganic (plant available) phosphorus, which was higher than the unfertilized control in all cases.

Discussion

The reduction of Fluorine contamination in each of the tests indicates a positive aspect of using the Kelzyme mineral in order to reduce the problems associated with this element in contaminated soils. It is evident from the test beds that fertilization with urea based nitrogen sources can exacerbate the problem of F contamination and may in fact be the cause of the existing conditions in Pakistan.

The lowest number of actinomycetes occurred in soil treated with anhydrous ammonium suggesting that these microorganisms may somehow have been suppressed, either directly or indirectly, by the fertilizer components. Beliaev (1958) found that continuous application of ammonium fertilizer without calcium can suppress the actinomycetes since the ammonium is oxidized to nitric acid by microbial action. The resultant decrease in soil pH from can cause unfavorable growth conditions where ammonia is used.

The generic analysis of the bacterial flora showed that fermentative bacteria such as Enterobacter, starch digesting bacteria, Azotobacter, and Clostridia, are present in soil treated with Kelzyme and the fertilized control (B), but to a lesser extent in the unfertilized control. This may have been due to the effect of some specific nutrient requirement for the growth of fermentative bacteria. Gyllenberg (1956) reported seasonal variations in which the relative abundance of Aa grouping bacteria increased with a decrease in the abundance of Ba grouping bacteria. It remains unexplained whether the increase in the relative abundance of the Aa grouping bacteria was accompanied by the accumulation of specific nutrients such as amino acids.

At present there is no clear relationship between Kelzyme treatments and the number of soil disease bacteria, e.g., Xanthomonas, Erwinia, Agrobacterium, and Pseudomonas, as shown in Table 2. But in the preliminary experiment it appeared that treatment of soils along with certain organically based nitrogen source (beds K, L, M, N) is associated with a rather low population of disease bacteria.

The effect of Kelzyme on fungal populations is soil indicated that soil treated with only fertilizer had low numbers of Penicillium and Trichoderma. These beneficial fungi can play an important role in inhibiting or suppressing soil borne microbial plant pathogens through their antagonistic activities. Large numbers of plant disease pathogens were found in both of the control treatments.

The effect of Kelzyme on soil physical properties suggests that Kelzyme can induce plant roots to penetrate soil more effectively. Soil treated with Kelzyme becomes more friable and porous, less compact, and promotes deeper cultivation. Microorganisms, particularly fungi, can bind soil particles into more stable aggregates. Bacteria can synthesize cementing agents in the form of gums and polysaccharides that also help to promote good aggregation. Lynch (1981) found that Azotobacter chroococcum, Lipomyces starkeyi, and Pseudomonas spp. can promote the stabilization of soil aggregates.

Insoluble soil phosphorus compounds (both organic and inorganic) are largely unavailable to plants, however many microorganisms can solubilize these compounds and make them available for uptake. Martin (1961) found that one-tenth to one-half of the bacterial isolates he tested were capable of solubilizing calcium and phosphorus. Fungal species of the genera Pseudomonas, Myobacter, Micrococcus, Flavobacterium, Penicillium, Sclerotium, Aspergillus, and others are also known to solubilize insoluble phosphates to plant-available forms.

References:

Beliaev, G.N., 1958, Mikrobiologiya, 27: 472-477

Bowen, G.D. and Rovira, A.D., 1966, Microbial Factor in Short Term Phosphate Uptake Studies
with Plant Roots, Nature (London), 211:665-666

Brown, M.E., 1974, Seed and Root Bacterisation, Annual Review Phytopathology, 12:181-197

Elad, Y., 1985, Mechanisms of Interactions Between Rhizosphere Microorganisms and Soil Borne

Plant Pathogens, p. 42-72, In V. Jansen, A Kjoller, and L.H. Sorenson (ed.), Microbial Communities in Soil, Elsevier Applied Science, New York.

Gyllenberg, H.G., 1956, Seasonal Variation in the Composition of the Bacterial Soil Flora in Relation to Plant Development, Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 3:131-134

Harrigan, W.F., 1984, and E.M.C. Margaret, 1996, Laboratory Methods in Microbiology. Academic Press, London.

Henry, D.F., 1984, Fundamentals of Soil Science, 7th Edition, John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Higa, T., 1986, Studies on the Application of Microorganisms in Farming, 6th IFOAM Conference, August 18-21, 1986, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Kado, C.I. and M.G. Heskett, 1970, Selective Medium for Isolation of Cornyebacterium, Erwinia, Pseudomonas, and Xanthomonas, Phytopathology, 60: 969-976.

Marois, J.J., D.J. Mitchell and R.M. Sonoda, 1981, Biological Control of Fusarium Crown Root of Tomato Under Field Conditions, Phytopathology, 71: 1257-1260.

Martin, J.P. and S. A. Waksman, 1940, Influence of Microorganisms on Soil Aggregation and Erosion II, Soil Science 42: 29-46 Martin J.P., 1950, Use of Acid Rose Bengal and Streptomycin in the Plate Method for Estimating Soil Fungi, Soil Science, 52: 29-40

Mathew, J.N. and E.H. Chester, 1959, An Alcohol Agar Medium Selective for Determining Verticillium microsclerotia in Soil, Phytopathology, 49: 527-528

Mishustin, E.N., 1970, The Importance of Non-symbiotic Microorganisms in Agricultural Plants, Plant and Soil 32: 545-554.

Rubenchick, L.I., 1963, Azotobacter and its Use in Agriculture, Israeli Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, Israel.

Sheldon, A., 1970, Experimental Microbial Ecology, Academic Press, New York.

Tadao, U.I., 1984, Handbook of Soil Borne Disease, Japan Plant Protection Association, Tokyo.

Tsao, P.H., 1964, Effect of Certain Fungal Isolation Agar Media on Thielaviopsis basicola and on its Recovery in Soil Dilution Plates, Phytopathology, 54: 548-555

The number of fungal species after Kelzyme treatment of this soil are shown. The highest number of Trichoderma species was found after treatment with fish solids and Kelzyme (N) and the highest number of Penicillium with fish solids and Kelzyme (N). However, the lowest number of specimens in these genera resulted from the anhydrous ammonia only treatment (G, I). The highest number of Verticillium species was observed in the urea fertilized beds (C, E). But the combination of cold process fish solids and Kelzyme appeared to suppress the numbers of this soil borne plant pathogen. The highest number of Fusarium species resulted from treatment with the urea fertilized control (C, E), while the combination of cold process fish solids and Kelzyme markedly suppressed the numbers of this particularly destructive plant pathogen.